This invention relates generally to cultivator devices and particularly to a cultivator which employs an auger tilling action.
The most common type of conventional cultivators used for garden work are tillers having power driven, wheel-like tines in front and non-powered wheels in the rear. The revolving tines propel the tiller in a forward direction. In fact, the tines perform the job of propulsion so well that one of the disadvantages inherent in this type of machine is that they are difficult to control and frequently must utilize drag bars to prevent the tines from pulling the machine forward too rapidly and out of control of the operator.
A more expensive tiller, of a similar type, is available having a front wheel, rear tine arrangement. The wheels are powered to control the forward push provided by the rotating blades. The tines must be shielded to protect the operator and, although such tillers are easier to use than the rear wheel type, the cost is even more prohibitive. Indeed, the machines of both types are so expensive that they are usually rented rather than purchased by the user.
Although auger type cultivators are known and disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 562,485, No. 2,876,850 and No. 3,714,990, they have not replaced the conventional tillers described above. U.S. Pat. No. 562,485 discloses a four-wheeled device having an inclined auger, which is driven by the rear wheels and employs a specific form of auger construction. U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,850 discloses a device utilizing a series of augers tied together by a gear train assembly, which is located at the front end of the device. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,714,990 discloses an auger plow, which is driven behind a tractor and utilizes augers having cylindrical discharge housings.
None of these devices has met with general acceptance, probably because of the complicated structure and instability of the augers. The present device solves the above problems in a manner not disclosed in the known prior art.